In terms of political ideology, he was inclined obviously towards conservatism. Despite his passion for politics and an obvious delight in hugging the limelight of public office, Alhaji Muhammad Tukur, who passed on September 12, at the age of 90, neither made impressive strides nor left indelible imprints in this sphere.
He contested and won the election as governor of the old Gongola State, comprising Adamawa and Taraba states in 1982 on the platform of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN), but was in office for only three months before the military terminated the Second Republic in December 1983.
Almost three decades later, he was elected National Chairman of the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2012. However, he quit office in controversial circumstances on January 15, 2014, after seven governors, 22 senators and 57 members of the House of Representatives, led by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, publicly declared the formation of a ‘New PDP’, thereby dealing a blow to his leadership of the party.
Between 1993 and 1995, he was the Minister of Industry and a member of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in the regime of General Sani Abacha. The dictatorial disposition of that government and the hostile domestic and international circumstances within which it operated did not create the appropriate climate for its appointees to post outstanding performances.
However, it was on the economic and business terrain that Tukur made remarkable contributions and left reasonably enduring milestones. Indeed, his notable managerial abilities were manifest when he rose to become the General Manager of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in the mid-1970s. It was at a time when the NPA was under severe stress as a result of the massive importation of cement, which caused a burden that the organisation had challenges coping with.
It was reported that during Tukur’s tenure as general manager, there was considerable expansion of the seaports’ facilities to cope with the country’s vastly increased import and export needs. When he quit the services of the NPA, he ventured full scale into private business as the founder and chairman of BHI holdings with the DADDO Group of Companies as one of his thriving outfits.
His companies ran a successful agricultural business operating on large areas of farmland situated across the various River Basin authorities, and also had substantial interests in manufacturing, logistics and trading. His serving as President and then life patron of the Africa Business Roundtable (ABR) indicates his active involvement in the business terrain across Africa.
Tukur was for about five decades a major player in the Nigerian economy, with diverse investments that made him a much sought-after member and advisor of various economic associations and councils. A member of various Chambers of Commerce in Nigeria, he was Honorary Life President of the West and Central Africa Ports Management Association. He was a member of the UNIDO International Business Advisory Council as well as the Ghana Investors Advisory Council.
Elected Chairman of the NEPAD Business Group in March 2002, Tukur was Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Africa Investor Ltd, and also Chairman of the Board of the OECD Africa Investment Advisory Group.
A fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology, Zaria, he was awarded an MSc from the University of Pittsburgh and the Doctorate Degree of Law (Honoris Causa) by the Benue State University, Makurdi.
In recognition of his contribution to business in Nigeria and Africa, he was awarded the National Honour of the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON), and held the traditional titles of Tafidan Adamawa and Wakinlin Ganye in Adamawa State.